Remembering Japanese cars from the past

AE86 Trivia: all Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited facts

It is time to dig a bit deeper into the AE86 again and this time I had a specific model in mind: the Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited!
AE86 Trivia header
A total of 400 Black Limited AE86 were made in 1986 and all of them are Sprinter Truenos. So no Levins were available in the Black Limited edition! All Black Limited cars were graded as GT Apex.

This is the official brochure from 1986:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited

Fast forward 27 years and this is how some examples by Carland AE86 look today:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited

What are the key differences between the normal kouki Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 and the Black Limited?

  • Black (duh!) paint in colorcode (204) that was not available on the normal lineup.
  • Gold painted 5.5JJ x 14 inch rims (aka Snowflakes)
  • Kouki tail lights with a Black Limited mid section
  • Black Limited gold livery on the doors with a gold pinstripe
  • Golden Trueno grille logo
  • Black/grey/orange gauge cluster
  • Black/grey/orange leather GT steering wheel
  • Black/grey/orange leather gearshifter knob
  • Black/grey/orange interior

A very good example of the Black Limited orange livery:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited livery
Notice that the pinstripe is higher than where the panda paint scheme ends.

These rims are the ones that are known as the snowflakes:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited snowflake rims
They have been nicknamed snowflakes because the design resembles a snowflake like shape.
In the US these rims were available as an option on the Toyota Corolla GT-S AE86 and in Japan and the US they were mounted on the Chaser/Cresta/Cressida/Mark II GX71 series as well. They were 5.5JJ wide and 14 inch in diameter and on the Black Limited a set of 185/60 tires were mounted.

Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited grille emblem
One of the most beautiful elements of the Black Limited is this golden grille logo. I once owned a scruffy one which I mounted on my old AE86 but I rather would have liked a golden one like this one. ;)

Let’s continue on the inside:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited Magazine Holder
Magazine holders are factory default.

Interior is the standard black/grey that can be found in the kouki AE86.
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited Interior
The seats feature the Apex livery embroided at the top.

Back in 1983 digital clocks were hot and the AE86 featured one:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited Digital Clock
The clock used in the AE86 Black Limited is obviously amber instead of blue.

Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited Gearshift knob
The gearshift knob is leather with orange print.

Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited Gauge Cluster
The gauge cluster has orange print as well, but interestingly enough Toyota decided to use the zenki gauge cluster instead of the kouki gauge cluster. Probably they made that decision as the kouki cluster featured vertical white stripes, so replacing those with vertical orange stripes would make it less readable.

This is what it looks like at night:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited gauge cluster
Even the backlight is orange!

Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited Steering Wheel
Another interesting part of the interior is the Black Limited leather steering wheel where the horncap has Twin Cam 16 printed on it in orange.

And another interesting detail of the steering wheel is the gold thread used for stitching the leather:Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited Steering wheel gold thread
Amazing Toyota even went into the smallest details like this!

The mid console is completely covered in orange print:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited mid console
Cigarette lighter, AC panel and also the factory radio (which normally has green print!) has orange print.
And that covers about all the details around the Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited!

Last but not least, someone in Puerto Rico created a Black Limited replica:
Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 Black Limited replica
Now you may frown upon replicas and think it is not the real deal. Well this guy went a long way to make it as close as possible: almost all parts are the original Black Limited parts!

Another fun fact is that the AE86 Black Limited is not the first time Toyota made a black special on top of the Trueno line: back in 1977 Toyota celebrated 9 years of Sprinter lineup with a so called Black Trueno (ブラックトレノ) but more on that subject in a later post…

In case you wish to search for the Black Limited in Google in Japanese, this is the translation: ブラックリミテッド

Photos, info and others via Minkara, Alex, Minkara (gauge cluster), AEU86.org and Toyota86UAE

7 Comments

  1. george

    I got a trueno ae 86 with a caburator engine.i would like to upgrade to an efi engine or import a full car .any one to help ??

    george

    • banpei

      I would say it is easier to get the intake+loom+ecu and that should cover most of it. However I do think it would be easier to swap an entire engine with all ancillaries.

  2. Javier

    I need black limited emblem front in gold

  3. Jonny Rochester

    The twincam steering wheel with “TWIN CAM” in gold/orange is also common to the early AW11 MR2. I owned that steering wheel once. The regular AE86 twinc cam steering wheel has the letters in white.

    • banpei

      Yes I have the same steering wheel in my Carina from the AE82, and as I mentioned in the post the Black Limited has orange writing on it.

  4. Lonesome_Carboy

    Iv been doing some searching banpai, have you ever come across a TT140 series corona in black limited ? i have seen the XX celica black EDITION and a black limited MR2, Thanks ! :)

    • banpei

      Unfortunately no, never came across mentioning of a Corona Black Limited

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